Should You Sell Your Website?

It takes a lot of work to build a successful website. The number of hours that you can put into a website is incredible:

Time to set up and design the site

Content creation

Marketing and promotion

Maintenance and updates

After all the hours and blood sweat and tears poured into the site, it begins to make a profit, which is great.

Why then would anyone consider selling a site, and why would you?

Well there are plenty of reasons to get rid of a site.

5 Reasons to Sell Your Site

#1 You’re Broke!

If you’re straight up broke and need some money to pay your rent, or feed your kids, then getting rid of a website is one way to bring in some much needed funds. Of course, there’s no guarantee of selling the site, and the process isn’t speedy, but this is as good a reason as any to flip that site.

#2 You Need Money to Fund a New Project

As an entrepreneur you’re likely looking at the next big thing while you’re still handling your current projects. Sometimes that new and shiny project needs some start up cash to get going, and one way to fund it is to sell off something from your existing portfolio.

#3 Lack of Time

Another reason to sell your site is simply because you don’t have time to work on it. A site that isn’t being worked on will start to fail slowly but surely, reducing any incoming profits over time.

It’s perhaps better then to sell the site now, while it still has traffic and money coming in, making it more valuable to a prospective buyer. When it’s already been run into the ground, your chances of selling it will be far less, and the sale price much lower.

#4 Loss of Interest

Even if you have the time, energy and money to keep growing a site, sometimes you can just get bored of it. If that’s the case, then you should definitely consider selling it, because at the end of the day an online entrepreneur has to love what they do! Your failing interest will show in the content, or lack thereof, and visitors will pick up on this making the site start to fail.

#5 To Make Money

This might sound simplistic, but a lot of entrepreneurs build sites with the sole intention of selling them. This can be a great way to get a large amount of money in one go, and has the added benefit of any commissions you get while building the site up.

There’s a Flip Side to Flipping Websites

There are of course reasons why you shouldn’t sell your site.

#1 Loss of Passive Income

Depending on how you monetize your site, selling it could actually make you lose money over time. Recurring or passive income might not amount to much month to month, but the yearly income might still be more than the website sale price.

#2 Having to Start Again

As mentioned above, building a profitable and successful site takes time and energy. Unless you happen to like the process of getting a site to rank and make money, then you may be better off simply keeping your existing site.

#3 Poor Sales Price

Website sales are market driven like most things, and sale prices can go up and down. As well as that some website marketplaces are auction based meaning you may not get the full potential price due to you.

As well as that if you site performs poorly or is dated, the sale price will not be that high.

Where to Sell Your Site

Actually selling a website can be daunting, but there are a few ways in which you can get started.

Peers

An often overlooked option is to sell the site to one of your “rivals” or peers in your niche. You’d be amazed by how many will be willing to pick up your site for the right price. They not only take out one of the competition, but gain an additional revenue source.

Marketplaces

There are a number of sites that can be used to sell your site, for a fee of course!

Each of those sites allows you to buy and sell websites, but they all take a fee if you’re selling one.

The main advantage is that the work of finding a buyer is taken away from you: you list the site and buyers find it on these marketplaces. It’s not a guarantee of course, but it will take some of the hustle away!

Entrepreneurs

Look outside your niche and peer network and find entrepreneurs that may want to take on your site. Many people outside your niche might want to get started in your niche, but don’t have the time or willingness to start from scratch.

Finding someone outside your niche is often harder, but can be done still.

Things to be Aware of When Selling Your Site

Fees

If you use a marketplace to sell your site, there will be fees. Same goes if you use Escrow to facilitate the money transfer (it’s recommended) and any fees from the payment process (PayPal etc.).

All in all you could easily lose 15% on your sale price.

You Will Need to Help Transfer the Site

Whether it’s as simple as zipping the files and database or actually transferring the site, you will need to be a part of the process. Make sure you state or agree with the buyer what your role is in the transfer process.

How to Make Your Site Saleable

It might not come as a surprise, but selling your site for a decent price actually relies on various metrics that not every site has.

Traffic

Your site needs to have regular traffic. Of course the more the better, but consistent traffic is key.

Metrics

As well as traffic, you need to be able to prove that the visitors are actually doing something, such as reading your content and engaging.

Revenue

This is usually what a potential buyer wants to see. Your websites revenue not only justifies the sale to someone, but also affects the sale price.

As Empire Flippers state:

[3-12 Months’ Average Net Profit] x (20 – 30) = Listing Price

If you’re unsure at what price to pitch your site, check sold listings at places like Flippa.com for similar sites to yours. It can give you a broad price range to work with.

Sales Pitch

In order to drag potential buyer’s eyes away from the revenue, and focus on other important aspects of your site, you need to have a solid sales pitch.

The pitch should cover as much as possible about the site: discuss the history and user base, examine the analytic metrics, explain what systems you have in place on the site, and what methods are used for monetization. If you use email marketing advise whether the list will be part of the sale or not.

The Bottom Line

Whether you should sell your site or not is dependent on your own current situation. However, it’s always worth looking into it from time to time, especially if your interest wanes, your available time shrinks or your bank balance empties!

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